Continuum -3.01- Minute by Minute - Review : Continuity

   Continuum started its third season last night with “Minute by Minute”. After a very long wait, we finally got to know what happened to Alec when he travelled through time and what the consequences were for our world. It was exactly what I wanted, so I wasn’t disappointed at all.  
   Continuum is really great show, the writing is perfect and the writers clearly know how to deal with time travel. So much happened last night, it was so good. I really didn’t expect the season premieres to be that full of surprising twists and shocking deaths. The writers and the whole cast really did an amazing job. So let’s review what happened !

Our World

   Kiera found herself imprisoned by the Freelancer after Alec’s disappearance. She was with Garza, Matthew and others in those weird white boxes. For a moment, I was afraid that the episode will be centered on Kiera’s trying to get out. But luckily, that wasn’t what it was all about. Kiera was taken by Chen, the Freelancer agent she shot last season. She was quite surprised and scared to see him alive, as I was. Chen interrogated her in order to find out when Alec would be. Kiera quickly spilled out the obvious : Alec wants to protect Emily and prevent her to die, so ihe must have arrived about a week before Emily's death.
   Then came on my favorite scene from “Minute by Minute”. Kiera got to meet Katherine, the head of Freelancers. And she wasn’t as evil as I thought she would be. She was cold but she seemed more an ally than an enemy. And she finally explained who the hell the Freelancers are ! It was about time !

   After Kiera left her time in 2027, the time travel technology got into the wrong hands and was used by criminals to change history. So, in order to stop those abuses, someone travelled back through time and created an order, a following : The Freelancers. So the Freelancers are Guardian of time, they have to make sure History won’t be changed by bad people. Katherine used a tree as a metaphor and it was quite brilliant. I was surprised the Freelancers aren't from the future but it makes them far more interesting.
   I really loved the explanation about them. Everything makes sense now, they were after Kiera and Liber8 because they are anomalies in the continuum and their job is to stop those anomalies. But, because of Alec’s jump back in time, the Freelancers have a whole new mission. Alec Sadler will become a very important man in human’s history, so he needs to be present in the timeline otherwise there can’t a future without him. At this point, I really thought they were going to have Kiera travel though time to get Alec and bring him back. But Kiera wasn’t convinced by Katherine and Chen’s speech, probably still holding a grudge over them blaming her for Gardiner’s murder. So, she was sent back to her cell.
   On her way back to her cell, Kiera met Garza, who was going to be interrogated. With one glance, the girls attacked the guards and they were spectacular. Really, I think it was one of the best fight scenes in Continuum. Kiera and Garza are both very strong and resourceful. It was very fun and exciting to watch them kick and kill those security guards. The music was quite good too, I loved when the rythm got faster when the third guard appeared. I could really feel the tension, even though it was sure they would be okay.

   Anyways, the girls quickly eliminated the threats and went in the undergrounds. It was quite stressful to watch them evolve in the tunnels. I had no idea how they could get out of that… And they actually didn’t. It was nice seeing Kiera and Garza together, they made a great duo. Garza always has been my favorite from Liber8. She is not that bad, she is a brave and combative woman. So, I was quite sad and a bit disappointed when she got shot in the back of the head. That was brutal.
   Garza sacrificed herself so Kiera could leave but she didn’t succeed. She ran only to find she was surrounding by water… And the world was ending before her eyes. Because, as Katherine explained to Kiera, now that’s Alec is gone from this timeline, the future Kiera knew won’t happen. And, Alec’s disappearance actually is causing the end of their world. That branch of the tree is dead, and so is everyone. That was very dramatic. I really didn’t expect it at all but it was a great surprise. The writers really push their logics and reasoning to its limits and it is really awesome.
  Luckily, it didn’t mean Kiera would die because the Freelancers have their own time travel machine, and a new suit for Kiera. Awesome ! The girl keeps travelling through time.

The New Timeline

   Alec travelled through time for the first time and arrived a week earlier. Not a big jump but still, that will allow him to be with Emily again. Clearly, it wasn’t the best part of the episode. I like Alec very much, but his love story is kinda boring. I like him better when he is with Kiera, even if it’s to betray her…

   Anyways, Alec also found her son, who helped him on his mission. They watched Falec (I’ll give him that name to distinguish them) going out with Emily. Of course, Alec wanted to save Emily from dying and so he would take her to Thailand but he had to be careful and not meet Falec otherwise things would get crazy I guess. But the guy didn’t think what would happen to Falec when Emily and he would be gone.
   But Alec had something else in mind too. He wanted to prevent Escher to collect the device and use it. (So Falec could not time travel ?) so he went to his lab with his son and keep one piece of the device with him. He also took the suit but Kellog appeared and was quickly suspicious about Alec’s behavior. Alec made the terrible mistake to inform him about Escher antimatter machine.
   It was terrible because, it led to his father’s death. It was the most surprising part of the episode for me. I’ve never expected Escher to die so soon in the show and I certainly didn't see Kellog being the one to kill him. I’ve never liked Kellog, he's so bad and always ruining Kiera and Alec's plans. I thought Escher will continue to be the big villain this season. I’m still a bit sad about his death, I liked his relationship with Alec and their dynamic. He could have been useful to the story again, but we’ll see what happens next. Maybe he can come back from another timeline !
   Anyways, Alec also went to see Fiera (Kiera from his new timeline) ! Yeah, because if there are two Alec now in this timeline, there is also two Kiera. But, Alec doesn’t know it yet. He went to Kiera and Carlos (!!! I missed him) and told them about Lucas’ location, so they could get the other pieces of the time travel device. Alec also told Fiera about Gardiner’s murder and apologized to her for his betrayal, even though she had no idea he would betray her. It was kinda easy to apologize to Fiera and not Kiera. I’m still angry at Alec for betraying Kiera. She has been so good to me, they finally had a stable and trustful relationship and he messed everything up. I understand it was for love, but there were much bigger things at stakes, like the future of humanity. Alec’s reaction seemed a bit childish.

   So, Kiera travelled back through time and she arrived in the new timeline. She went looking for Garza and saved her. It was very nice gesture from Kiera, but Garza sacrified herself to help her in our world. Kiera and Garza have a great chemistry and I hope Garza will be back soon to help Kiera and Alec against Kellog. She could be a Freelancer agent too !
    Kiera got to meet with Katherine again, only it was the first time for Katherine. It was quite funny to watch Kiera explained to her what happened and it came with another twist : Kiera has joined the Freelancers. She even got their weird tattoos ! It was a good surprise. Now, Kiera and he Freelancers have the same interest. They want continuity and Kiera has a new mission because there are two Alec Sandler in this new timeline. She now has to find out which one will become the Alec Sandler she knew in 2027 and kill the other one (or send him in another timeline ? I don’t think there are many options). So, who will it be : Alec or Falec ?
   As Alec was getting packing for his love trip, he came across a bloody dead body in his lab, and it was Fiera’s. It was shocking to watch Keira’s body lying on the floor. I knew it wasn’t really her but still I got emotional. Alec’s reaction was touching. For a second I wondered who would have killed her and then, Keira appeared in the lab and I knew it was her. She killed herself, it must have been weird. So, no more Fiera.... Too bad, I’d have liked watching twice of Rachel Nichols. 

   “Minute by Minute” was a splendid episode, a great way to start the season. If they can keep this dynamic (and I don't see why they couldn't), this season is going to be terrific.
   Continuum really created its own universe with its own rules about time and destiny. I like that destiny and time aren’t set. Anything can happen, even timelines can be destroyed. It’s crazy and it’s very exciting to watch. I’m not a big fan of science fiction in general, but I think Continuum is very creative and very clever about its writing, and it's often what other sci fi lack.. Continnum's writers don’t go too far and they explain what is going on. There are still mysteries but at least we can understand a bit of what happening.
   The writers did a wonderful job at resetting the story, with Alec and Kiera in this new timeline. Their relationship has quickly deteriorated since he betrayed her. Now, she has to kill one of them and I’m sure Alec won't help her on that mission. I’ve like their dynamic in the first two seasons, so I wonder now what will happen between them. The Alec Sandler from Kiera’s future is a bad man but the Alec we've known never really seems that evil. Last year, I thought Emily’s death had changed him but I’m not so sure now. Maybe it’s Falec who will become the future Bad Alec. But how Kiera can be sure he’s the right one ? …. This season is going to be crazy !

Time travelers notes : 

• I love the Kiera and Garza’s pack “You don’t mess with me, I don’t mess with you”. It was really cool to watch them starting to trust themselves.
• So, our world has been destroyed, are you sad ? Or are you excited about this new timeline ?
• Alec’s excuses about his head injury to Emily were so lame. And short term memory loss ? Really… That is not how you explain you had time travelled. It’s highly suspicious.
• Carlos appeared for like 2 minutes, and it was scenes we already watched. I miss him, but I’m sure next week he’ll be more present. Do you think Kiera will tell him the truth ?

   Did you like “Minute by Minute” ? What do you think will happen ? Hit the comments !

About the Author - Romain Ossust

I'm 27 from France, living near Paris. I love a lot of TV shows, (this is a non exhaustive list) : Orphan Black, True Blood, Dexter, Weeds, Person of Interest, Criminal Minds, 24, Ab Fab, Carnivale, Lost, The Americans, American Horror Story, Once Upon A Time, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Ugly Betty, Scandal, Looking, Sleepy Hollow, The Walking Dead, Raising Hope, Orange is the New Black, Grey’s Anatomy, HIMYM, Girls, ...
For SpoilerTV, I'm reviewing The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Looking, Continuum, Sleepy Hollow, The Americans, True Blood & Orphan Black
Otherwise, I’m also very fond of cats, I own 6 of them. I work as an administrative assistant, in one of the greatest place to work in France. I also enjoy sunbathing, reading and having fun ; and I hate doing sports :)